Earthquake Shakes Los Angeles on Tuesday

LOS ANGELES, July 29 -- A substantial earthquake shook metropolitan Los Angeles at midday Tuesday, swaying high rises in the city's center and western sections and rattling nerves across the region.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey initially said had a magnitude of 5.8 but then downgraded somewhat to 5.4. The quake struck at 11:42 a.m. (2:42 EDT) and its epicenter was 29 miles east-southeast of downtown, near the community of Chino Hills. The USGS measured the quake's probable depth at eight miles.

Media reports said the quake was felt as far south as San Diego and as far east as Las Vegas.

"It kind of started with a bang and then the rollers took over," said Jenni Palmer, 42, a legal secretary working in a high rise in Century City. "Everybody kind of took stock. Somebody looked up the magnitude. And then we all went back to work until they evacuated the building."

"It was scary," said Erma Guilmore, 58, a security professional who was in an underground garage when the quake hit. "I was sitting in a chair and all of a sudden it started rockin.' I thought it was a truck rumbling, but when it kept going I ran outside."

The quake was followed by several smaller aftershocks.

The initial damage reports were minor. The quake sent items flying off the shelves and into the aisles of a Chino Hills grocery store. Some phone service -- both on land lines and through cells -- was problematic at times, perhaps because of heavy use. An underground water main reportedly ruptured in an intersection just east of LA City College. Underground radar at Los Angeles International Airport was reportedly lost for a minute.

"Toward this area we felt it, but so far there's no damage that we know of," said Officer Kate Lopez, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department. "We're still waiting to hear from everyone."

Thomas Heaton, a professor of engineering and seismology at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, said, "A 5.4 right in the middle of the metropolitan area means that it was startling to millions of people. Of those millions of people, I'm sure we'll find some isolated instances of cracked plaster or broken things." But he added, "Generally speaking, you don't expect a 5.4 to do significant damage to structures."

Schools in metro Los Angeles were evacuated, television anchors left their desk to seek shelter and the Los Angeles City Council adjourned for a quarter hour to let nerves settle.

At the council meeting, people remained calm. "Earthquake," an official announced into the microphone. "Got an earthquake."

No damage was evident at City Hall, which had been retrofitted against seismic damage at the cost of $300 million.